A non-Tolkien related post for once

Thanks to the kind person who nominated Mystical Recharge at the Willowy Goodness Awards site!

Dawn looked at Willow dubiously. "When you say, 'recharge the mystical battery inside me', how exactly do you plan to do that?"Willow seemed unable to answer, her tongue tied with embarrassment. Her face turned as red as her hair. Dawn sighed theatrically."It's going to involve sex, isn't it? Why do these things always have to involve sex?"

And while I'm at it, a 13-question meme about fic writing (copied from samtyr). I remember I used to do that once...

1. Of the fic you’ve written, which are you most proud of?

Probably Hiywan's Story and its sequels. Not only is she a rewarding character to write, I can have endless fun inventing the details of the setting and background.

2. Favorite tense (past/present/future)?

While most of my fics are in past tense since it's the easy default, I think I actually prefer present. It gives a much greater sense of immediacy and drama.

3. Favorite POV (first/second/third/etc)?

Restricted third, so the reader only knows as much as the POV character. Especially if you can work in some unreliable narration that the reader can detect. But I do enjoy first person too. I've only ever written one fic in second person - (Dis)Connection - and even then it's more of a hybrid (Buffy addressing Faith, so combined first and second person).

4. What are some themes you love writing about?

Taking unusual, or downright weird and freaky situations, and then having my characters deal with them as if it's no big deal because they cope with these things all the time. Likewise, exploring the practical ramifications of such weirdness: how it would affect the wider situation, what consequences beyond the obvious there would be.

5. What inspires you to write?

Reading or hearing something and thinking, "That's strange - how exactly would that work? Hmm..."

6. Thoughts on critique?

Always welcome as long as it's given with sensitivity and good taste. :) .(I mean, nobody likes to be told, "You suck and your writing sucks.") I may not necessarily agree with the critique, but I'm aware that I often write about things I have no personal experience of - as do most writers, other than autobiographers - so I'm, always willing to hear from people with more direct knowledge. Also, taking about my own fic is fun. :)

7. Create a character on the spot…. NOW!

Befikadu. Once he was a proud hunter of the People; now he's a nightwalker, stalking the savannah for a different prey - the blood of the living. He just has one little problem; his sire is a six-year old girl. Well, ex-girl. And her sire was Awrelyes himself, the Master, so she's high in his favour and important, and he can't just kill her. (Not to mention she's probably stronger than him.) Instead he has to suffer the embarrassment of bowing and being respectful to someone who barely comes past his knees. He knows the other nightwalkers are sniggering at him when he does.

8. Is there a character you love writing for the most? The least? Why?

Many.Hiywan, of course. She's a great mixture of insightfulness and naivety,and endlessly frustrated at the illogicalities around her.Willow, because she's kind of insecure and over-intellectualises things, but she can set you on fire with her brain.Buffy, because you can put her in the worst possible danger, with all the odds against her, and she'll claw her way out of it and triumph - but she can still be a huge dork at times too.

.9. A passage from a WIP.

I don't really do 'works in progress' currently, unless you count the Chibi History. But I can give you some passages from abandoned or unfinished fics - mostly abandoned because I couldn't think of a satisfying ending.

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He wasn't much to look at, perhaps. Still young - only ten or so years older than Charlotte herself. His clothes were neat, almost fastidiously tidy, and completely à la mode. His face was mild, like a family lawyer or a kindly clergyman... until you looked into his eyes. His eyes burned with cold fire. His eyes said that this was a man who would pay any price to meet his goals. In gold or blood or sacrifice, his own or that of others; any price at all.

Charlotte met those eyes without flinching, then took the chair he politely offered her.

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"Anchovies are disgusting. They taste like cunt."

"But I like them - wait. How do you even know that?"

Faith grinned archly. "Wouldn't you like to know? But hey, you're the one who likes them, so what does that say about you?"

"*Ahem*" Buffy pointed meaningfully to the young and fresh-scrubbed sales clerk whose ears were turning pink as he struggled to remain impassive in the face of this conversation.

"What? I bet he likes cunt too. In fact maybe--"

"Faith!!" Buffy practically yanked her aside, then spoke quickly to the young man whose face was as red as his uniform. "We'll have an extra-large meat feast with double pepperoni."

Faith sniggered audibly. "Got something to prove, B?"

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"Do you think she could have killed all of us? One nightwalker?"

"I don't know. They're powerful, Mother says; but that powerful? I don't know." I gave a wan smile. "That’s probably one of the things I'm going to find out now I'm Grandmother Heran's apprentice."

"Good."

Another long silence. The sun balanced on the horizon, sending its last golden rays to give the cliff-tops a final caress. Esyete waved her hand towards the dim valley, already in darkness far below us.

"Do you think she's still out there?"

I was startled by the question. "Who? Biftu? It's been six years." I shivered, hating my answer. "I suppose she might be. I haven't seen her since. I don't want to see her again."

"Neither do I."

I stood up. The sun slipped below the horizon and vanished. "We'd better get inside. It's not safe up here now."

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Gimli accepted the shining chisel and turned it over in curiosity. It was simple yet elegant, though as with all Elven work there were decorative curlicues around the handle and the flat of the blade that to Gimli's Dwarven eyes were superfluous. The carvings were rubbed and worn down in places, a detail Gimli noted without making much of it - until he realised just what he was looking at.

Mithril carvings. Worn down with age.

But that was impossible. Mithril was the hardest substance known in Arda since the loss of the Silmarils. It did not "wear down". Not unless this chisel had been in constant use for ten thousand years or more.... Ah. Yes.

Very, very carefully, Gimli handed back the unimaginably ancient tool to his guest, who accepted it absently with a casual word of thanks and strode over to where the raw stone was waiting for her. She pulled off the wooden cap and flipped the chisel idly between her fingers, the silvery surface catching and reflecting the red light of the forge.

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And why not: this is more of a WIP since it's probably not the final version I'll post, and that won't be for a long time

Depends on the fandom. For 'Buffy' stuff, the transcripts at www.buffyworld.com. For the Chibi History, volumes 1, 10 and 11 of HoME and the Silmarillion, supplemented by the various Tolkien wikis.

13. Who are your favourite writers?

Other than the obvious - people who fall into the category of 'automatically purchase their next book' include Terry Pratchett, David Weber, Lois M Bujold, Sara Paretsky. I mostly read non-fiction these days, though.